FY12 Challenge America: Fast Track Review Grants

GRANTS TO ORCHESTRASâ¨â¨

Announced December 6, 2011

â¨â¨Some details of the projects listed below are subject to change, contingent upon prior Endowment approval.

Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, $10,000
To support performances and workshops featuring the work of composer Michael Torke and percussionist Alexej Gerassimez. Torke's Mojave Concerto for Marimbawill be the featured presentation during the performances to take place at the Robinson Center Music Hall in Little Rock.
Billings Symphony Orchestra & Chorale, $10,000â¨
To support Classical Music/World Class Artists, a concert series featuring guest artists with musical roots in Ireland, Serbia, and Mexico. Proposed guest artists include Canadian fiddler Sierra Noble, Serbian-born marimba player Nebojsa Zivkovic, and Mexican American pianist Gustavo Romero.

Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestra, $10,000
To support A Place in Heaven: The BMSO and Soprano Korliss Uecker. Project activities will include a series of performances and a master class in Bismarck and Hettinger, Noth Dakota, featuring North Dakota native Korliss Uecker.

Great Falls Symphony, $10,000
To support a concert featuring harpist Debra Henson-Contant and related outreach. Additional activities with the artist will include an open rehearsal for local music students, workshops at area high schools, and a preview broadcast on Great Falls Public Radio.

Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra, $10,000 â¨
To support a performance of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana featuring soprano Diane Penning, baritone Stephen Hartley, and tenor Sean Copenhaver. In addition to the soloists and orchestra, the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra Chorus, the Northern Michigan Chorale, and the Northern Michigan Youth Choir will also perform. Maestro Sidney Hazelwood and musicologist Dr. Robert Pattengale will lead a series of lecture-demonstrations about the masterpiece.

Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, $10,000â¨
To support performances by the chamber music ensemble Claire Byrant and Friends and related outreach. In addition to performing in public schools and assisted-living communities, the artists will assist Boys & Girls Club members in the development of monologues with musical accompaniment.

LaPorte County Symphony Orchestra, $10,000
To support performances of Beethoven Lives Upstairs by Barbara Nichols featuring actors from Classical Kids Live. The actors and full orchestra will perform several matinees for local students highlighting Beethoven's music.

Lawton Philharmonic Orchestra, $10,000
â¨To support the concert Music Makes Us One! Composer James Stephenson and ethnomusicologist Ed Wapp will collaborate on an original symphonic work incorporating and paying tribute to Native American music. Partners will include executive staff from the Kiowa Tribe, Chickasaw Nation, and the Comanche National Museum and Cultural Center.

Lima Symphony Orchestra, $10,000â¨
To support performances of Beethoven Lives Upstairs by Barbara Nichols, featuring guest actors from Classical Kids Live. The actors and full orchestra will perform for local youth and their parents.
Mid Texas Symphony, $10,000
â¨To support Rachmaninoff Rocks, a concert featuring pianist Mariangela Vacatello and related activities. Additional activities will include a lobby exhibit of work by local artists, a master class for area university students, a pre-concert lecture, and radio broadcast of the concert.
Minneapolis Pops Orchestra, $10,000â¨
To support a series of community concerts featuring baritone Peter Halverson. In partnership with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Department, the organization will bring seniors to Nicollet Island Pavilion for as many as four concerts. An additional concert will be performed for the community in Elliot Park.

Northwest Symphony Orchestra, $10,000 â¨
To support 25 X 125, a series of activities commemorating the organization's milestone of performing 125 works by Northwest composers over the past 25 years. Project activities involving guest artist composer and guitarist Michael Nicolella will include a commission of a new concerto, a concert featuring the new work, and presentations for students of the Highline School District.

Orchestra of Southern Utah, $10,000
To support Capturing the Caribbean, a mainstage performance, youth concert, and series of assemblies in area elementary schools. Proposed artists include percussionists Barry Olsavsky and Ron Brough.
Peninsula Symphony Association, $10,000 â¨
To support Awakening Emotions, a concert featuring pianist Esther Keel, and related outreach activities. In addition to the concert, Keel will make presentations to students at three local Title I elementary schools.

Rockford Symphony Orchestras, $10,000
To support the Beethoven Live! Youth Concert featuring pianist Joel Ross. Middle school students from schools serving low-income families will travel to the Coronado Performing Arts Center for the performance.

Waco Symphony Orchestra, $10,000â¨
To support a concert featuring pianist Andre Watts and related outreach activity. Prior to the public performance, local piano students and members of the organization's youth orchestra will attend a rehearsal and participate in a question-and-answer session with Watts.

RELATED CHALLENGE AMERICA GRANTS

Endless Mountain Music Festival, $10,000 â¨
To support the Endless Mountain Music Festival, a series of concerts and related activities in venues throughout Northern Pennsylvania and Southern New York. Proposed artists pianist Santiago Rodriguez and violinist Robert Bokor will perform throughout the region and participate in outreach activities including pre- and post-concert discussions, master classes, and educational programs.

â¨Friends of the Orchestra, $10,000â¨
To support Bringing Them Home, a concert featuring pianist Margery McDuffie Whatley and guitarist Ben Altman, both Georgia natives. Performances will be held at the Hawkinsville Opera House and at Wesleyan College's Porter Hall in Macon, Georgia.
Opera Circle, $10,000
â¨To support a production of Il trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi. The opera will be presented in the Slavic Village neighborhood of Cleveland and proposed partners include the Bohemian National Hall, the Polish-American Cultural Center, and the Cleveland Women's Orchestra.
â¨University of Idaho, $10,000 â¨
To support performances by the Ying Quartet, and related outreach activities. The artists will coach several youth orchestras, provide master classes for university students, and present a lecture-demonstration for youth of the Northwest Children's Home.